Leviticus 7:11–21

From verse 8 of chapter 6 to the end of Leviticus 7 we have the law of the various offerings. In each case the "law" gives more detail about how to present the offering to the Lord. It says especially how the priests were to deal with the parts that were not burned before Him.

Although the peace offering itself stands third in order, its "law" comes to us last of all. That carries meaning. No offering unfolds the communion of the worshipper as fully as the peace offering does. In the burnt offering, it is Christ offering Himself to God. In the grain offering, we have Christ's perfect humanity. In the sin offering, we learn that sin, at its root, is fully met. In the trespass offering, there is a full answer to the actual sin in the life. But none of these unfolds the communion of the worshipper. That belongs to the peace offering, and I believe that is why its law stands where it does. It comes at the close of all. It teaches us that when the soul feeds upon Christ, it must be a full Christ, seen in every aspect of His life, His character, His Person, His work, His offices.

In this chapter we learn only what happened to the blood and the fat, which was God's portion. The law of the peace offering, in Leviticus 7:11-34, tells us more. Not only the priest had his share; the offerer himself had his portion. So this offering has a mark of its own — communion with God over the excellence of the sacrifice of Christ.

So Jehovah had His portion. So did Christ, signified by the priest who presented the blood and the fat — He and His house ("we are His house"). So did the believers, one with another. All entered into and enjoyed the fellowship of Christ's work. But uncleanness and the feast on that sacrifice can never go together. If man's communion is prominent, greater care guards it, so that he does not forget what is due to God and His holiness.

If offered as a thanksgiving, it was to be offered on the same day, and no part kept. If it was a vow or voluntary offering, the rest might be eaten the next day. We find the same two measures in worship now. Both are real, but they do not hold the same power. Some souls are happy in the sense of what the Lord has done for them, and they break out in grateful thanks. That may be elementary, but it is real worship of God. Yet it lacks the power that sustains. In the vow we see more. There it is not simply what has been done for us, but the heart delights in what Christ is Himself before God. This abides.

Yet in the peace offering for thanksgiving, leaven was not only allowed but required. Divine wisdom was providing for man and his fellowship. This was believing man, set apart for God. Still it took account of his nature. There was that in him which was not in Christ. In what represented Him leaven was not and could not be. But what represented the saints and their fellowship had to show the corruption of nature. Otherwise the picture would not be true.

In the peace offering, the fat was burnt on the altar as a sacrifice to God. If anyone ate the flesh of the victim on a day too far from that one, it was not communion but sin. The worshipper showed his joy by eating the sacrifice. That joy had to stay in immediate connection with the offering made to God. Otherwise it was profane.

The term "peace offering" conveys a wrong thought about the sacrifice spoken of in the Scriptures we have just read. Many people take it for granted that this offering pictures Christ making our peace with God. But that is not a correct thought. The peace offering is rather an offering of thanksgiving or praise. The peace offering pictures our communion, as saints of God, on the ground of the value of the work and precious blood of Christ before God — our communion with God Himself, our communion with the Lord Jesus, and our communion with one another as priests of God... That is why we have that expression, "If he offer it for a thanksgiving." Praise and worship necessarily flow from communion.

...the name would be better understood if translated requitals, or recompenses, which is what the Hebrew word Shelamim means. As the reader may see in Leviticus 7:12, 16, people brought it on private occasions, either for a vow or for a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It really has nothing to do with the idea of peace.

In this chapter, the peace offering for a thanksgiving is the only offering that carried a meal offering along with it. The impression is this. We come to God with appreciation and thankfulness for all that is being done for us. In doing so we must keep in mind not only the death of Christ, but also that perfect life leading up to it.

The offering "for a thanksgiving" had to come with a meal offering. The "unleavened cakes mingled with oil" picture the perfect man Christ Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit. The "unleavened wafers anointed with oil" remind us of that blessed One who was anointed with the Holy Spirit. The cakes mingled with oil and fine flour fried set Him before us in His sufferings. Notice so far the complete absence of leaven, because it may express the perfect purity of the humanity of Christ.

In the New Translation we find another feature introduced; the word "fried" (v. 12) is translated "saturated" with oil. Every movement our Lord made when in this world, and every word He spoke, were all in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this blessed Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought us into fellowship with God as the result of His death.

No one can know communion with God apart from a real recognition of the death of Christ for us, because the offerer laid his hand on the victim's head before he killed it. But if the Lord has died, He first lived. So the unleavened cakes pictured His life as well as His death. Yet the order is suggestive. His death comes first here, then His life; the cakes were offered with the sacrifice of thanksgiving — literally, on it.

Divine wisdom was providing for man and his fellowship. It was man believing and holy. Still it took account of his nature. There was that in him which was not in Christ. In what represented Him there was no leaven, and there could be none. But whatever represented the saints and their fellowship had to show the corruption of nature, or the picture would not ring true... Christ has, and loves to have, His part in our thanksgiving — He without whom we could have none.

This is all the more striking. Every Israelite began the holy year with the Passover, where God banned leaven in every form. The ban covered the meal offering too, in pointed terms, as the chapter given to it makes plain. Yet in the peace offering for thanksgiving, as in the two loaves of the Feast of Weeks, leaven was not only allowed but prescribed. And the reason in each case was the same. Divine wisdom was providing for man and his fellowship. This was man as a believer, and holy. Still it took account of his nature. There was that in him which was not in Christ.

Notice that up to this point there is no leaven at all. That was to express the perfect purity of the humanity of Christ. Then, besides these things, "he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread." And why do we now have leaven? Surely not to express what Christ was, but what we are. Even in our thanksgivings to God our Father, we still have that in us — the flesh — in which nothing good dwells.

God permitted leaven here — and in Scripture leaven is always a symbol of evil — but it had to stay under careful control. There is no leaven in verse 12, which speaks of Christ Himself. No suggestion of evil can ever attach to Him. But leaven does appear in verse 13, which brings us, the offerers, into the picture. Even there, it had to stay under control. Nothing suggests the leaven is active. It has been in the oven and baked — fire has judged it in the presence of God.

In addition, the offerer was to bring leavened bread. The whole formed one offering, though its foundation was the animal sacrifice. On that lay, as it were, the unleavened cakes and wafers, and on them the leavened bread. Of all this, only the appointed part of the animal burned on the altar, and the serving priest received a heave offering of the cakes and bread.

One portion out of the whole, or out of each offering, was to go to Jehovah as a heave offering, and it fell to the priest who sprinkled the blood, as his portion. Christ has, and loves to have, His part in our thanksgiving — He without Whom we could have none.

But if it is a question of OUR offering a thanksgiving sacrifice, the leaven simply admits this: in OUR offering there may be ignorance, self-satisfaction, pride, a lack of proper reverence, even rivalry. It is painful to hear faulty or mistaken things said in thanksgiving. It is painful to see a brother stand for a worship hymn with his hand in his pocket, or sit in a careless, lounging way.

The rules for the peace offering pictured the communion of God with His people. Under them the offerer could bring both unleavened cakes and leavened bread to Jehovah. The first set out Christ in His perfect, spotless purity. The second set out the worshipper. He had an evil nature, and in the sacrifice and death of Christ that nature had passed under the fire of God's judgment. God accepted both.

The heave-offering included the right shoulder of the peace-offering (except in the case of the Nazirite). It also included one out of the whole offering that went with the animal offered as a peace-offering (Lev. 7:11-14); the first of the dough (Num. 15:20), and the tithes (Num. 18:24)… These offerings differ from one another, yet they have one feature in common. They are all portions taken out of a larger whole, whether of fruits, of animals, of money, or of land, and as such are called heave-offerings.

In the peace offering for thanksgiving, leaven was not only allowed but commanded. The same was true of the two loaves of the Feast of Weeks… Divine wisdom was providing for man and his fellowship. It was man believing and holy. Still it took account of his nature. There was that in him which was not in Christ. In what represented Him leaven was not, nor could be. But what represented the saints and their fellowship had to show the corruption of nature. Without that, the picture would not be true.

The first set out Christ in His perfect spotless purity. The second set out the worshipper, who had an evil nature. In the sacrifice and death of Christ, that nature had passed under the fire of God's judgment. God accepted both.

"Leaven" was permitted, because there was sin in the worshipper's nature. "Uncleanness" was forbidden, because there should be no sin on the worshipper's conscience. If sin is in question, communion must be out of the question. God has met and provided for the sin which He knows to be in us, by the blood of atonement. In other words, the "blood" of the sacrifice fully met the "leaven" in the worshipper's nature. The priest who eats the leavened bread must be the one who sprinkles the blood. God has put our sin out of His sight for ever. Though it is in us, it is not the object on which His eye rests. He sees only the blood. And therefore He can go on with us, and allow us the freest fellowship with Him. But if we let the "sin" that is in us grow into "sins," there must be confession, forgiveness, and cleansing. Only then can we eat of the flesh of the peace offering again.

Christ has, and loves to have, His part in our thanksgiving — He without whom we could have none.

The offering priest is a type of the Lord Jesus, who offered Himself without spot to God. He must have His part in all this blessed communion and joy and worship, because it has all come about through Him.

God finds a savour of rest in the part offered to Him. The priest who sprinkled the blood, a picture of the Priest in heaven, had his part. Aaron and his sons, a shadow of the Church, had their part. The offerer and his friends also fed on the same offering… What nearness to the Father, what joy, what thanksgiving, what worship must be bound up with this sharing together in that one Object which has so perfectly pleased and satisfied God!

The blood is sprinkled, and the fat burned as a sweet aroma; the wave-breast was for Aaron and his sons, the heave-shoulder for the priest who offered it; and the rest for the worshipper to feed on, as an occasion of joy and thanksgiving before Jehovah... Here Christ is shown not only as the perfect burnt offering, given up entirely to God in death for His glory, but also as an offering we feed on. He is not only God's delight; He is also what we can share in with Him. He is the subject matter of communion... The communion is between all the saints: the worshipper, the priest, and God.

That is to say, the worshipper's communion must never be cut off from the sacrifice it rests on. Worship and communion stay fresh and acceptable as long as a person has spiritual energy to keep that connection alive — and no longer. We must keep close to the sacrifice: in the way we think, in what our hearts love, and in what our souls experience.

But if the sacrifice of this offering was a vow or a voluntary offering, the flesh might be eaten not only on the day it was presented, but the rest of it on the next day as well... Thanksgiving is simple, and God looks for it from the simplest believer. But it does not have the sustaining power of that devoted heart which a deeper knowledge of Christ and His sacrifice creates in some who know God's grace better.

The worshipper must eat his portion in connection with the burnt offering and the priests' portion. If he eats it apart from these, it becomes an abomination, and the soul that eats it must bear his iniquity... So we shall find again and again that joy in the Lord easily sinks into what is merely natural. For example, Christians come with glad hearts to seek the Lord in communion, and the Spirit is present. They forget all their grief... But if they are not very watchful, their joy degenerates. It outlasts what is spiritual, and becomes joy in the flesh. The real test and power of this is its connection with the sacrifice offered.

If any worship or praise to God is not connected with the value of the work of His Son, it is simply an abomination in His sight. In other words, God does not accept as worshippers people who have never been washed in the precious blood of Christ. There is nothing God is so jealous about as the way people worship Him. Yet that is usually the last thing Christians think about.

The peace offering of a thanksgiving is singled out also... to insist that the offerer had to bring it of his own free will, eat it the same day he offered it, and leave none of it overnight. This is repeated from Leviticus 7:15. Just as God's mercies are "new every morning" (Lam. 3:22-23), so our occasions of thanksgiving should be always new and fresh.

It is an offering of repayment, or recompense, so a man might bring it to express thanksgiving, or as a vow, or as a voluntary offering. If the offerer brought it for thanksgiving, he and those with him could eat it only on the day he offered it. If he brought it as a vow or a voluntary offering, he could feed on it for two days, but never on the third... A vow or a freewill offering spoke of something surrendered to God, whether for a time or forever. Thanksgiving spoke only of gratitude for something already received.

Then we learn that a vow or voluntary offering has greater power than a simple return of thanks for blessings received, however good and right that thanks is. The vow stands for devotedness of heart in the offerer... But if the offering had devotedness or spontaneity, there was a sustaining power that lasted.

When the Lord's own hand sends someone a marked favour, the soul rises at once in thanksgiving. The worship then comes from that favour or mercy, whatever it happens to be, and stays tied to it, and there it ends. But when the Holy Spirit leads the heart out in some voluntary or deliberate expression of praise, that praise lasts longer.

The Lord Jesus has plainly forbidden us to make vows today (Matt. 5:33-37), for the law of God has proved that man in the flesh cannot be trusted, and we cannot promise what we will do in the future. Yet the vow would no doubt speak of the purpose of heart to devote oneself to the Lord in obedient faith. This is right, but not an actual vow.

A "vow" has to do with some act of devotion. It means a definite committal to God to carry out some work for His glory and for the blessing of His people... If someone sees a need and takes it up in communion with God, asking grace to be devoted to the service involved, you would see the features of a "vow" peace offering. It is not required, but it is a privilege open to anyone who really wants to commit himself to God, so that God can use him.

But no peace offering could be eaten for more than two days. The reason: if the offerer and the friends he invited kept living on it day after day, it would look like a person killing an animal for his own feast, instead of bringing an offering to the LORD.

The offering had to be eaten the same day, or at the latest on the second day; no one could keep it longer. This shows that the communion must be spiritual. We can only have it in communion with the sacrifice of Christ, not in nature... For instance, if Christians in gladness of heart come to seek the Lord in communion, the Spirit is present; they forget all grief... but if they are not very watchful, their joy degenerates. It lasts beyond what is spiritual, and becomes joy in the flesh. The real test and power of this is its connection with the sacrifice offered.

In chapter 7 we find that the worshipper ate the rest of the peace offering, except the breast and the shoulder, which belonged to the priests... The blood is sprinkled, and the fat burned as a pleasing aroma. The breast was for Aaron and his sons, the shoulder for the priest who offered it, and the rest was for the worshipper to feed on, as an occasion of joy and thanksgiving before Jehovah... Christ is shown here not only as the perfect burnt offering, wholly given up to God in death for His glory, but also as an offering we feed on. He is not only God's delight; He is also what we can share with God. He is the subject matter of communion... The communion is between all saints, the worshipper, the priest, and God.

Then we learn the greater power of a vow or voluntary offering, which stands for devotion of heart in the one who offers, over a simple return of thanks for blessings received, however good and right that is. For the thanksgiving, the flesh had to be eaten the same day as the sacrifice... Where there was devotion or spontaneity, there was a power that lasted. The flesh was to be eaten that day, and what was left could also be eaten the next day... God would not allow the worshipper to be cut off from the sacrifice beyond the second day. Fellowship in joy and peace is encouraged, especially where Christ draws and fills the heart in the power of His sacrifice; but the feast must not be carried too far from its source.

This shows how carefully God guarded communion. He kept it to Himself and to those who could have communion with Him. So no one was to use any leftover part, or put it to ordinary use; it had to be burned. We see the same principle elsewhere... God gave the same strict instruction about the Passover lamb: anything left of it until the morning had to be burned (Ex. 12:10).

No one could feed on a peace offering for more than two days. If the man who brought it, and the friends he invited, went on living off it day after day, it would look like a person killing an animal for his own feast, instead of bringing an offering to the LORD.

The third day is also stamped with the divine mark of resurrection by the prophet Hosea: "After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him." And of the peace offering we read, "what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire." That is, on the third day it belongs wholly to God.

Communion cannot be stretched beyond the measure of spiritual power. Any effort to keep up a show of communion by our own strength is "an abomination" in the sight of God.

The communion of the worshipper must never be separated from the sacrifice on which that communion is founded... We may begin some act or expression of worship with our hearts taken up with Christ. Before we reach the end, we may become taken up with what we are doing or saying, or with the people listening to us... If the Holy Spirit produces "five words" of worship or thanksgiving, let us say the five and stop.

Nothing is of any value, in the judgement of God, which is not immediately connected with Christ. There may be a great deal of what looks like worship, which is, after all, the mere excitement and outflow of natural feeling. There may be much apparent devotion which is merely fleshly pietism.

With a voluntary offering the communion lasts longer; it might be eaten for two days. But no peace offering could be fed on for more than two days. If the offerer and the friends he invited kept living on it day after day, it would look like a person killing an animal for his own feast, rather than bringing an offering to the LORD. Besides, we have no doubt that the third day in Scripture often refers to resurrection.

Why was this? Because keeping it broke the link between the eating and the sacrifice on the altar. So in Leviticus 3:5: "Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering" — that is to say, the burnt offering is the foundation of the peace offering. This eating of the sacrifice, then, was not like ordinary eating. As they ate, they were linked with all the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice before God, and with all the value He set on that sacrifice.

We may begin some act or expression of worship with our hearts fixed on Christ. Before we reach the end, we may become taken up with what we are doing or saying, or with the people listening to us. In this way we may fall into what could be called "iniquity in our holy things." We may begin our worship in the Spirit and end in the flesh. If the Holy Spirit gives us "five words" of worship or thanksgiving, let us say the five and stop. If we go further, we are eating the flesh of our sacrifice beyond the time — and far from being "accepted," it is really "an abomination."

With a vow, the meat might be eaten the second day after the burning of the fat — the LORD's food of the offering. With a thanksgiving offering, it was to be eaten the same day. This tied the purity of the worshippers' service to the offering of the fat to God. If the peace offering was eaten apart from this offering of the fat, it was mere fleshly festivity, or a form of worship with no real communion with the delight and good pleasure of God. It was worse than unacceptable — it was really iniquity.

Nothing is of any value, in God's judgement, that is not directly connected with Christ. There may be a great deal of what looks like worship, which is, after all, only the excitement and outflow of natural feeling.

If any worship or praise to God is not connected with the value of the work of His Son, it is simply an abomination in His sight. In other words, people who have never been washed in the precious blood of Christ are not accepted as worshippers before God. God is more jealous about the way He is worshipped than about anything else, and that is usually the last thing Christians think about. When Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorised fire before the LORD, they were struck dead, because they did not come to Him in the way God had commanded. And what did Moses say? "Among those who are near me I will be sanctified" (Leviticus 10:3).

See that your worship stands inseparably connected with the work of the cross. See that Christ is the ground, Christ the material, and the Holy Spirit the power of your worship. Take care that your outward act of worship does not stretch beyond the inward power.

The burnt offering was for God alone. The sin offering was not for every Israelite to eat either. The peace offering was different: every Israelite could eat it, as long as he was clean. Of the peace offering it says: "All who are clean may eat flesh" (Lev. 7:19). This supports the thought that the peace offering speaks of fellowship.

The people ate of one offering only, and that was the peace offering. Leviticus 7:19 says of this peace offering: "All who are clean may eat flesh." The one who ate of the peace offering was in communion with the altar.

The priest and the man who brought the peace offering both had the privilege of eating it. Yet if that meat touched anything unclean, no one was to eat it (v. 19). The link with uncleanness was enough to defile it. If the meat was clean, those who were clean could eat it.

So holiness must moderate, guard and govern the joy of fellowship. "Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire." Being too casual with God is an offence when we express praise and blessing. What is it to sing to God words we know are neither true nor fitting? We are under a solemn duty to see it gone!

Every Israelite could be invited to share the feast. But one condition would not bend: he must be clean… Grace leaves us free to enjoy fellowship with the LORD, with Christ the Priest, with all His priests and with the simplest of His people. Yet we are just as bound to refuse everything irreverent and everything sinful. If we bring into that fellowship what offends God's nature and will, we do it at our own risk before Him. He will not fail to vindicate Himself and His word.

Verse 20 deals with a person's own uncleanness… Anyone who is evil in life or wrong in teaching cannot take part in the breaking of bread. Verse 21, though, speaks of "touching". That points to defilement through association. An Israelite might be clean in himself. But if he had contact with anything unclean, he could not eat the peace offering.

But if someone ate this offering while he was unclean, he was to be "cut off from his people" (v. 20). Death may seem a harsh sentence for this. Yet the Lord means to press on us how serious it is to pretend we have fellowship with Him while we go on in sinful ways.

See what care God took to guard His people from trying what His nature must reject… Under law, death was the penalty if an unclean person ate the peace offering, because that offering belonged to the Lord. Under grace, we are told to confess our sins, and communion will be restored (1 John 1:9).

It is the shared food of those gathered as worshippers, to feast on in Jehovah's presence. But if anyone unclean ate this sacrifice, he was to be cut off from the people (Lev. 7:20). Only as clean people could they meet with Jehovah in this way. Only those already cleansed and accepted can share this delight in the Lord Jesus. He is given as a shared object of communion and enjoyment between God and us, and with one another. In this act, our worship is not merely coming to ask about our acceptance. We already have access, so we come to rejoice with God over the sacrifice, knowing its results. It was a thanksgiving offering, and praise was in it. It all rests on the certainty that full satisfaction has already been made.

Every Israelite could be invited to share the feast, but one condition was fixed: he must be clean… By grace we are free to enjoy fellowship with Jehovah, with Christ the Priest, with all His priests, and with the very simplest of His people. If that is so, we are bound to refuse all irreverence and all sin. If we bring into that fellowship what offends God's nature and will, we do so at our own risk before Him. He will certainly defend Himself and His word. To be a Christian, however real, is not enough on its own — essential as it is. In 1 Corinthians 11:27 the apostle is not speaking of people at the table who are unworthy or unconverted. He is speaking of eating and drinking the Lord's supper in an unworthy way.

If one ate of this offering while he was unclean, he was to be "cut off from his people" (v. 20). Death may seem a harsh sentence for such a thing. But the Lord wants to impress on us how serious it is to pretend to have fellowship with Him while living in sinful practices.

Verse 20 deals with a person's own uncleanness… Anyone who is evil in life, or wrong in what he teaches, cannot take part in the Breaking of Bread. In v. 21, however, "touching" is mentioned. That reminds us of defilement through association. An Israelite might have been clean in himself. Should he have contact with anything unclean, he could not eat of the peace offering.

The people were not examining themselves to see if they were Israelites. That was settled by their birth. Nor do we examine ourselves to find out whether we are children of God, for that was settled for ever when we were born of God by faith in Christ Jesus. But an Israelite who had uncleanness on him, because he had touched something defiling, had to be cleansed from it and made clean before he ate of the peace offering. In the same way, we have to be clean when we come to the Lord's table.

See what care God took to guard His people from attempting what His nature must reject. It was not simply that they would fail in what they sought. They would provoke God, who is light, to act in judgment against them, because He is holy. Under law, death was the penalty if anyone unclean ate of the peace offering, for it belonged to the Lord. Under grace, we are told to confess our sins, and communion will be restored (1 John 1:9).

In the peace offering God has His share. Christ (the High Priest) has His share. The individual offerer has his share. And the family of priests (all believers) have their share. So sharing together in the enjoyment of the sacrifice of Christ stands out as a mark of the peace offering.

Every Israelite could be invited to share the feast, but one condition could not be bent: he had to be clean… Grace leaves us free to enjoy fellowship with the LORD, with Christ the Priest, with all His priests, and with the very simplest of His people. So we are bound to refuse everything irreverent and everything evil.

Verse 20 deals with someone's personal uncleanness… Anyone whose life is evil, or whose teaching is wrong, cannot take part in the Lord's Supper. Verse 21, though, speaks of "touching." That reminds us of defilement through association. An Israelite might be clean in himself. But if he had contact with anything unclean, he could not eat of the peace offering.

This was not a question of personal uncleanness, but simply of association with uncleanness. So today, across the Christian world, countless cases of unclean doctrine and practice have come in. The Christian is warned, "Go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you" (2 Cor. 6:17).

Here we have two things clearly set before us: sin in us, and sin on us. God permitted "leaven," because there was sin in the worshipper's nature. God forbade "uncleanness," because there should be no sin on the worshipper's conscience. If sin is in question, communion must be out of the question. God has met and provided for the sin He knows is in us, by the blood of atonement… The cutting off of the worshipper for ceremonial uncleanness answers to the suspension of the believer's communion now, because of unconfessed sin.

Death may seem a harsh sentence for such a thing, but the Lord intends to press upon us the seriousness of pretending to have fellowship with Him while indulging in sinful practices.

See what care God took to guard His people from attempting what His nature must reject. It was not only that they would fail in what they came for. They would also provoke God, who is light, to judge them, because He is holy. Under law, death was the penalty if anyone unclean ate the peace offering, for it belonged to the LORD. Under grace, our part is to confess our sins, and communion will be restored (1 John 1:9).

God's hand in discipline had removed some of the Corinthians for a sin that was, in principle, like the one Leviticus 7:21 warned Israel against.

Being a Christian, however real, is not enough on its own, essential as it is. In 1 Corinthians 11:27 the apostle is not speaking of unworthy or unconverted people at the table, but of eating and drinking the Lord's Supper "in an unworthy manner."